Gateway p173x FX Driver Problems Network Controller

I had to re-format my laptop. I installed the drivers which were listed for my laptop on the gateway support site. But now i don't have the option to turn on/off my wireless network, and there aren't any drivers available on the gateway site for the network controller, at least any that work.

I spent about 2 and a half hours with support directly connected to my computer and they weren't able to install the right drivers. They should be sending the factory drivers on a cd, but I'm not sure if that will ever get here and I'm going to college in about a month

Does anyone have a list of the drivers needed for the p173x fx series of laptops, particularly the ones which are needed for wireless networking?

Thanks =/

 

This may sound stupid, but why not just use the switch on the front?

 

That's the thing, the switch is set to on =/

 

Ok. So youre saying, you have no wifi connectivity at all?

 

None at all :[

As soon as it boots up it tries to find drivers for the Network Controller, but can't.

 

Hmm. Interesting. You using 32bit or 64bit vista?

 

I had the option to install either 64bit or the 32 bit version of vista ultimate from the factory cd, I chose the 64bit.

 

Hmm. I cant find a driver when browsing the drivers at gateway.com. It stops at the 172xl. Link me to the one you downloaded and installed.

 

what wireless card do u have? if it is intel, go to inte.com and find the driver.

 

If you have the 4965agn, try this

 

This is going to sound stupid, how can I check what kind of wireless networking card I have?

 

right click computer, select Manage, double click on Device Manager, expand Network Adapters and it should say Intel Wireless WiFi link or something similar followed by a model descriptor

 

I've got two entries for bluetooth, and this is the last one:

Realtek RTL8168B/8111B Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0)

 

Damnit. I just remembered your wifi nic isnt working, so it wouldnt be listed. DERRRRR, Im an idiot. Sorry, its late. Ok. Just try the driver I linked you to previously. I'm pretty sure thats the one to use.

 

I downloaded/installed it.

Nothing new was showing up under network adapters. So I opened up Intel Proset Wireless, clicked advanced diagnostics and let it run under hardware it said Failed: driver version does not support Intel(R) ProSet/Wireless.

 

Jeeze man. I'm beginning to think you have a hardware problem. Have you taken the back panel off and verified the wifi card hasnt come loose?

 

Argh

I went to device manager, right clicked on device manager and searched for hardware changes.

It says it found new hardware, and windows needs to install driver software for your network controller.

Could my wifi nic have failed?

I'll try taking off the back panel then :|

 

I fixed it, thanks to everyone for helping me out, I really appreciate it and I learned alot!

The Model Number for the WiFi NIC of the Gateway P173X FX is: wn6302L

The only place to find the driver online is at:

http://www.badongo.com/file/9754059

It's not on the gateway support drivers download page, and it isn't on the RealTek website.

On A Side Note

I was online with pc-connect for 4 hours last night where a Gateway Tech tried to install the same drivers over and over again. The following day I called tech support and was on the phone for another 2 hours.

The Level 2 guy was a little bit more knowledgeable, he admitted that RealTek did not make the wireless nic drivers available to gateway other then on their factory pre-installed cd, and that I basically had to wait for gateway to update their support page, or wait 1-2 months for the factory driver cd to come in the mail[backorder]. I asked him for my wireless card model number which he gave, and he said that the drivers should be D20388-001-001 when they show up on the gateway page.

The funny part is that when I asked them about replacing my laptop, or returning it for my money back they pretty much told me to go **** myself.
I guess if you reformat their recovery partition with all of their bloatware and drivers which they don't have on their website, they'll claim user damage.

Are there any companies out there that actually care about their customers? The only one I know of is Zappos, and they sell shoes

 

Glad that you fixed it, that's definitely one way to learn things.

I have the same laptop as you and created the recovery disk for the drivers, so I might possibly have the original/official? driver that I could possibly get to you somehow if you want.

But if it's working now, why "fix it" again, I guess?